The Origins of the

“Taiwan-Japan Rotary Goodwill Association”

Article by: Lin Zhi Zhen, PDG Micro

“The Taiwan-Japan Rotary Goodwill Association” was established by the author (PDG Micro) upon accepting the role of RI President, Mr. William B. Boyd’s D2580 RI President’s Representative. It was at a regional RI conference on February 14-15, 2007, held at the Tokyo Otani Hotel in Japan that I had the opportunity to attend a tea reception with Rotary forerunners such as PDG Sato Chihisa (deceased), PDG Shoichi Maekawa, DG Shuei Ozawa , DGE Koji Asakawa , and PP Seki Iwao (District 2580 Secretary). During pleasant conversation we all come to the same opinion- “Why is there a Japan-Korea Rotary International Goodwill Conference but no Taiwan–Japan Rotary Goodwill Conference?” “The RI President’s Representative is encouraged to expend the greatest effort to bring sincere Japanese voices to Taiwan and enter into discussions with Past Governors in hopes of further strengthening goodwill and friendship between Rotary of both countries through the establishment of a Goodwill Conference.”

After listening to their ideas, the author was very touched, and upon my return to Taiwan, I immediately consulted with and conveyed the sincerity of our Japanese counterparts to senior RI leaders in Taiwan. We also recalled past kindness bestowed upon us by Japan RI, for example, supporting Taiwan’s initiative at the Council on Legislation to make the Mandarin Language one of the official RI languages, giving precedence to Taiwan’s bid for 2008-2010 Directorships, and welcoming past Governors from Taiwan as RI President’s Representatives to participate in district conferences in Japan on many occasions. By establishing the Taiwan–Japan Rotary Goodwill Association, we will be able to organize various Rotary goodwill exchange activities to build more bridges of friendship between Rotary in Taiwan and Japan.

Thus, amid enthusiastic anticipation from all sectors, this Association held its founding preparation conference on March 28, 2007 at the Cesar Park Hotel Taipei. Approximately 50 Rotarians attended and RIPN Gary served as host of the event. Thanks to everyone’s recommendations, the author was appointed PDG Micro and Mr. Lai Chong Xian of District 3480, was appointed PDG Right. RIPN Gary and TRF Trustee Jackson served as Association consultants.

On May 12, 2008, the “1st Japan-Taiwan Rotary Goodwill Conference” was held at the Keikyu Ex Inn Shinagawa Ekimae Hotel. 159 Rotarians and their spouses formed a goodwill delegation from Taiwan and, with more than 500 Japan RI members, reaffirmed their commitment to continue to move forward hand in hand in the future in an atmosphere punctuated by the ensemble singing of “Connect Hand-in-Hand.”

At the end of 2008, PDG Senju Satoh, who played a critical role in the establishment of the Rotary Goodwill Association in Taiwan and Japan, passed away. To thank him for his contributions towards Rotary in Japan and Taiwan, RIPN Gary and TRF Trustee Jackson led a delegation of Directors and Supervisors, Past Governors, and other Rotarians to memorial services in Japan on February 3, 2009.

In order to continue expanding services, Taiwan RI completed  application for official social group status to the Taiwan Ministry of the Interior at the end of March 2009. Corporate registration was completed at the end of April and we were officially recognized as a legal entity.

On August 29, 2009 at 7:30 PM, we successfully organized the “Taiwan-Japan Social Night: Tokyo Tomo Glee Club” concert in the concert hall of Shin Min High School in Taichung City and it was very well-received.

On October 10, 2009, the “2nd Taiwan–Japan Rotary Goodwill Conference” was held at the Fleur de Chine Hotel at Sun Moon Lake Taiwan. D3460 PDG Lee served as Chair of the Preparatory Committee and PDG Music served as Producer. More than 450 members and guests from Taiwan RI and Japan RI attended. VIP Japan Rotary forerunners including Representative to Japan, Mr. Masaki Saito, and Former Directors such as PRID Genshitsu Sen, PRID Masanobu Shigeta, and PRID Itabashi Toshio (current President of ROTARY YONEYAMA MEMORIAL INC) were involved in overall event management. The event was warm and lively and everyone had a great time.

At the same time, the Japan-Taiwan Rotary Goodwill Association raised ¥14,810,506 in a very short amount of time for  “Typhoon Marokot Flood Disaster” victims in Taiwan. The Hiroshima Southeast RI Division donated ¥80,000 and in total ¥14,890,506 (approximately NT$5,333,700) was raised for the flood victims. The 6th Meeting of the 1st Board of Directors and Supervisors resolved to implement a plan to build interim refugee housing in Wutai Village and Changjhih Village, Pingtung County, in cooperation with the Republic of China Red Cross Society (Taichung City). On March 22, 2010, the the “Refuge House Opening Ceremony” was held and Japan-Taiwan Rotary Goodwill Association President Shoichi Maekawa and Chairman Hiromu Tada led teams to Taiwan to participate.

In order to comply with annual RI conventions, this association’s term of office for the 1st Board of Directors and Supervisors was to end in November  2010, but all Directors attending the “First 6th & 7th Director & Supervisor Conference” to hold the “Second 1st Member Representative Conference” ahead of schedule on  June 6, 2010 to elect the 2nd Board of Directors and Supervisors. Then, on July 1, 2010, the 1st Meeting of the 2nd Board of Directors and Supervisors was held and due to the support from directors, the author was re-elected for a consecutive 2nd  term as Chairman to continue serving the Taiwan–Japan Rotary Goodwill Association.

At the beginning of March 2011, PDG Ryohei Tsuchiya donated ¥1,000,000 through this Association to the Lee Teng-hui Association for Democracy for the adoption and planting of  Sakura trees surrounding Wusanto Reservoir’s bronze statue of Yoichi Hatta. Matsuto RC President Seiyo Ihara (Current) responded to this magnanimous act by personally sponsoring 2 Japanese stone lanterns shipped to Taiwan at his own expense. With support from PDG Kent and the Chia-Nan Irrigation Association the lanterns were placed at the entrance of the stone path in front of the bronze sculpture of Yoichi Hatta on April 2, 2011. PDG Ryohei Tsuchiya and Matsuto RC President Seiyo Ihara led a goodwill delegation of 14 delegates to Taiwan on June 17-18, 2011 to visit Wusanto Reservoir and tour the sponsored Sakura trees and stone lanterns. They also received a Certificate of Appreciation from the Lee Teng-hui Association for Democracy.

On March 11, 2011, the Northeastern region of Japan suffered a strong earthquake registering 9.0 on the Richter Scale that generated a tsunami causing an extremely serious disaster. This association immediately issued a meeting notification on March 12 and on March 16, held the 5th (temporary) Meeting of the 2nd Board of Directors which put together a strategic rescue task force to assist all districts with club fundraising and, at the end of March, submitted an application to the competent authority, the Taiwan Ministry of Interior, for fundraising activities and to establish the “Taiwan RI 2011 off the Pacific Coast of Tohoku Earthquake” donation account for earmarked funds. As of June 30, 2011, donations raised totaled NTD50,525,404. This total was divided into 3 portions and remitted to the designated donation bank account of the Japan-Taiwan Rotary Goodwill Association on May 9, 2011, June 23, 2011, and July 4, 2011 for rescue and rebuilding efforts. After deducting Japanese bank remittance fees of ¥75,689 and the ¥17,939,278 Japanese officials assisted in remitting to a designated Sister Club, the Japan-Taiwan Rotary Goodwill Association received net donations totaling ¥123,168,515. The entire amount was used in collaboration between Rotary Districts 2540, 2570, 2580, 2590, 2630, 2640, 2710, 2720, 2760, 2790, 2820 etc. and Thailand PRIP Bhichai Rattakul to establish the “Rotary Higashi Nihon Daishinsai Youth Support Connection Association” and the “Rotary Kibou No Kaze Scholarship” which provides a monthly ¥50,000 scholarship to orphans attending university (including junior colleges) and technical colleges until graduation.   Since it began to issue scholarships in November 2011, the “Rotary Kibou No Kaze Scholarship” has had 30 recipients and the scholarship will continue to support more students in the future.

2012-2013 RI President Elect Sakuji Tanaka and Lady Kyoko, visited Taiwan on August 17-22, 2011. This Association was much honored to organize a farewell dinner for Mr. Tanaka the night before he returned to Japan. This “Sayonara Party in Honor of RIPE Sakuji Tanaka and Lady Kyoko” was held in the B2 Evergreen Hall at the Taichung City Evergreen Laurel Hotel on August 21, 2011 (18:00-21:00). On that day, it was generous of 4 of our consultants: TRF Trustee Jackson, RIPN Gary, Dr. Koh Se Kai (Past Taiwan Ambassador to Japan), and PDG Derma to attend and guide the event. Directors, supervisors and members enthusiastically brought their families for a total of 235 attendees (24 tables) and the entire event was lively and heart-warming. Many thanks to all front stage and backstage staff for their hard work and contributions and especially PDG Music for carefully planning and ingeniously arranging the entire night’s program, Taichung Chungyang RC President Golf for leading more than 10 Taichung Chungyang RC members in presenting a  professional  dance performance, and Shin Min High School Students for their dragon dance performance, all of which made the event even more colorful. The Wives of Taichung RI Choir also gave an excellent performance. Taichung PC President Land, DGN Jim, and many other members assisted in the registration and photography of the event. Timing was precisely controlled and the dinner concluded smoothly and successfully at 9 PM.

The 3rd Japan-Taiwan Rotary Goodwill Conference was originally scheduled to be held last year on June 10, 2011 at the Hotel Granvia Kyoto. Due to the unexpectedly severe damage caused by the 311 Eastern Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, both parties agreed to postpone the meeting to June 1, 2012 with the location unchanged. Originally, Japan RI made several inquiries regarding the number of attendees from Taiwan. The initial estimate was 150, but because registration was far too enthusiastic and exceeded 200 participants, registration had to be stopped immediately due to concerns over venue capacity.

To participate in this event, each district formed a group for a total of 8 groups (Division 3460 formed 2 groups). The 8 group leaders were either executive directors or directors. D3460 Group A Leader: PDG Music, D3460 Group B Leader: PDG Star, D3470 Group Leader: PDG Kent, D3480 Group Leader: PDG Right, D3490 Group Leader: PDG Carbon, D3500 Group Leader: PDG Mirror, D3510 Group Leader PDG Plastic, D3520 Group Leader: PP Brain. Every group flew separately to Kansai, Japan on May 30 (Wednesday) and May 31 (Thursday) according to their own schedule.

At 10 AM on  June 1, a total of more than 40 officers from the Japan-Taiwan and Taiwan Japan Rotary Goodwill Associations jointly held the Bilateral Directors Goodwill Conference to exchange ideas and determine that the 4th Taiwan-Japan Rotary Goodwill Conference will be held in Taiwan in 2014. At 2 PM, the 3rd Goodwill Conference officially opened. Participants from the 2 countries numbered over 600. After both countries exchanged pleasantries, a series of speeches and reports concluded at 4.15 PM. After which the event highlight began, Japan-Taiwan Goodwill Association President, Shoichi Maekawa presented 7 Certificates of Gratitude to Taiwan RI Districts, the Republic of China Red Cross Society (Taichung City), Shin Kong Life Real Estate Service Company, Ho Tai Development Co., Ltd., etc. I also take this opportunity to deeply thank all organizations who donated funds through this Association to the victims of the 311 Eastern Japan Earthquake and Tsunami.

Finally, PRID Genshitsu Sen gave an inspiring speech with the theme of “KIZUNA” and used Paul Harris’ RI Values and the “Three Cups of Tea” story to illustrated the achievement of Service above self through contribution and goodwill. It was an unforgettable Rotary Course for all those who were present.

At 7 PM, the “Goodwill Dinner” started on time. Organizers invited more than 20 beautiful Geishas to perform, interacted with the guests, and pose for group photographs. This extraordinary banquet, not only featured exquisite cuisine and unlimited alcohol, it was also a fine showcase of the sincere hospitality of Japanese Rotarians and a totally unforgettable experience.

Since the establishment of this Association, we have been actively recruiting enthusiastic outstanding Rotarians who would like to volunteer service towards Rotary goodwill exchange between Taiwan and Japan. After recommendations from directors and members, we now have 439 members as of early October 2012.

I will like to thank all sectors for their support and affirmation for the past 5 years and all senior members for their guidance and care in assisting in successively completing the establishment of Sister Clubs between Taiwan and Japan during this time and vigorously promoting an art and culture exchange plan between countries that is in its infant stages.

Looking back, and looking into the future, this Association will continue to promote the spirit of service in goodwill exchange between both countries, translate this into practical action, continue to organize various social events, contribute to both countries’ goodwill, and hopefully, to achieve more success.